In my last post, losing your identity, I pointed out an annoying problem with the Sparkle update framework, in that if you lose your private key you can no longer post any updates. Using code signing identities would offer a get-out, in addition to reducing the complexity associated with releasing a build. You do already sign your apps, right?
I implemented a version of Sparkle that does codesign validation, which you can grab using git or view on github. After Sparkle has downloaded its update, it will test that the new application satisfies the designated requirement for the host application – in other words, that the two are the same app. It will not replace the host unless they are the same app. Note that this feature only works on 10.6, because I use the new Code Signing Services API in Security.framework.
